The Daily Life of Running an Ancient-Era Restaurant

[The entire story has been carefully revised multiple times. The official version on Jinjiang is complete and error-free. Upcoming: The County Office's Little Chef. Please add it to your collection~ Weibo: @Jinjiang Mianwei]

[Story Description]

Jiang Wan transmigrated. The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself in a wretched situation: both her parents were dead, her home was bare, and her little restaurant had been closed for days and was on the brink of bankruptcy. She could barely pay the rent, and it looked like she would have to shut down for good.

Seeing her little sister sobbing, Jiang Wan, once a food blogger, rolled up her sleeves. No need to panic. This is what I do.

With her extraordinary cooking skills, she brought the restaurant back from the brink. She introduced signature dishes one after another: soup dumplings with thin skins, juicy filling, and fragrant broth; hot-and-sour pork slices, tender and chewy; and pineapple-roasted pork belly, crisp and delicious with a sweet-and-savory flavor.

She also came up with refreshing afternoon teas, including chilled lychee and bayberry drinks, honey peach oolong tea, and taro milk.

Now and then, she served late-night snacks like fermented rice wine with osmanthus rice balls and duck blood vermicelli soup.

Thanks to her increasingly popular business, Jiang Wan not only paid off her rent but also moved into a larger premises, upgrading her little snack shop into a restaurant. From then on, the aroma of Jiang's Restaurant drifted for miles, and customers came in an endless stream.

*

Jiang Wan had always thought nothing could be more outrageous or bizarre than transmigrating. But then something like that happened again

One day, her usually docile and well-behaved dog suddenly went berserk and bit someone. The victim was none other than Shen Dan, a high-ranking commander of the Imperial Guards. He was not only a highly skilled martial artist, but also a powerful figure who could turn the tides of the court with a single gesture. Clearly, he was someone she could not afford to offend.

To protect her business, Jiang Wan made a quick decision: she would make it up to General Shen for his emotional distress by putting her cooking skills to use.

From then on, she worked at her restaurant during the day and delivered meals to the Shen residence at night. The two agreed on a set period, after which they would part ways and have nothing more to do with each other.

Ever since Miss Jiang began visiting the Shen residence, the once-desolate manor had gradually grown warm and lively. A steaming bowl of porridge could always be found beside the towering stacks of case files. As Shen Dan buried himself in mountains of paperwork, he would occasionally look up and see her lovely smile.

Later, Shen Dan, a man who always kept his word, broke their agreement.

For the first time in years of being alone, he found himself wanting to keep someone by his side.

*

Later, one day after Jiang's Restaurant had closed, someone saw the usually cool and taciturn General Shen holding Jiang Wan in his arms. With the most impassive expression, he said the gentlest words:

"My lady, would you come home with me tonight?"

In his arms, Jiang Wan answered in the gentlest voice, yet said the most heartless thing: "No."

"The restaurant opens tomorrow, and I need to work on new dishes tonight."

With that, she slipped out of his arms without a backward glance and headed for the kitchen. General Shen was left alone, heartbroken.

*Reader's Guide and Content Notes:

1. The leads are each other's first and only partners; one-on-one romance; seven-year age gap.

2. This is a fictional setting where most foods and seasonings exist. Official systems and customs are loosely based on history, but there are many original details. Everything serves the story, so please don't nitpick the historical accuracy~

3. The dog biting someone in the description has a special reason. It's usually well-behaved, and its owner always keeps it securely leashed.

4. The main story is slice of life with a slow build, not a power fantasy.

5. The cover is custom-made, and the character designs aren't fixed.

6. 70% anti-piracy threshold, 72-hour delay.

7. Please be cautious about following an ongoing story. Don't enable automatic purchases. Buy one chapter at a time to avoid getting caught off guard~

[Preview for the upcoming story, A Prince Claims Her Beauty]

Jiang Qingyao was born into a distinguished family. She was the empress's own niece and the crown prince's cousin, radiant and beautiful, with a noble status. From a young age, she often went to the palace to keep the emperor, empress, and crown prince company. Before long, everyone was convinced that she and the crown prince were a match made in heaven.

But no one knew that when the imperial edict announcing her betrothal was issued, Qingyao was thinking of the frail, battered boy she had helped up from the snow years ago: the Fifth Prince, Xie Huaicheng.

At sixteen, she married into the Eastern Palace as expected. But on the eve of her wedding, she had a dream. In it, on the night she married the crown prince, the emperor died and the crown prince ascended the throne. After using the Jiang family, he quickly turned against them, charged them with crimes, branded her an ill omen who had brought about the emperor's death, and imprisoned her deep in the palace, where she died alone in the depths of winter.

Only then did she realize that the crown prince had insisted on marrying her because of a prophecy from years ago: a daughter of the Jiang family was destined to become the crown princess.

As she lay dying, she glimpsed a familiar figure rushing toward her, shivering with cold and covered in blood. With trembling hands, he drew her into his arms.

Qingyao awoke from the dream in a cold sweat. For the first time in her life, she, who had always followed the rules, wanted to run away from her wedding.

*

On the night of the wedding, the Fifth Prince, Xie Huaicheng, stopped the Eastern Palace's wedding procession in the street. With a single sword stroke, he knocked the crown prince, dressed in wedding robes, from his horse. That same night, Xie Huaicheng took over the Eastern Palace, sending the court into turmoil and leaving the officials aghast.

He stepped on the crown prince's severed hand. Then, with the blood wiped from his fingers, he gently touched Qingyao's cheek through her red veil, his gaze dark and menacing.

Qingyao cried out in shock. "Xie Huaicheng, are you insane?"

"Yaoyao," he said hoarsely. "If I had to watch you marry him, I'd really go insane."

Beneath the dark sky, Xie Huaicheng's eyes held an undisguised, frenzied passion.

No one knew that he had been waiting desperately for this moment for years.

*

Xie Huaicheng was born to humble circumstances and was bullied at every turn. Though he was a prince, he lived worse than a servant. No one in the palace cared whether he lived or died.

One winter, a young woman dressed in fine silk helped him up after finding him lying in the snow, covered in wounds. Her gentle words illuminated his gloomy heart. Xie Huaicheng saw a pair of eyes as pure and bright as the moon.

From then on, day and night, he was consumed by the desire to pull that bright moon into his embrace.

Theme: Never give up.